Sigur Ros: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA 04/17/2013


Photo Credit: Will Miao

Watching a band that has created such an immense wall of sound, such a dazzling video and lights spectacle, such intense musical arrangements and an altogether larger-than-life live persona stand at the front of a stage, arms entwined, waving and saying thank you to a 6000-strong audience of adoring fans is nothing short of arresting- visually and emotionally.

While one could argue that every moment of a Sigur Ros set is meant to invoke a level of catharsis, perhaps their most touching and vivid moment was the very end of the show, where after a two song encore the band, flanked by string and horn players, stood at the front of the stage at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for a couple of minutes- long enough to make an impact, but short enough to not lose the momentum of all that came before. And really, it was a breathtaking moment- like going on a long journey and having one last chance to wave goodbye to the ones you’ll miss the most before it all ends, which in a way created a space where the band ceased to be The Band and instead was part of the experience just as much as the audience was, and to see that respect being poured back towards concertgoers is a truly rare find.

But then again, a Sigur Ros show pretty much defies the expectations one has of large arena rock concerts. There are no wailing guitar solos or stripteases, no backup dancers and massive sing-a-longs- sure, there’s a giant video screen behind the stage and a spectacular light show, but their set also includes two hours of music in which not a word of English is spoken- in fact, all of the songs from ( ) are done in "Hopelandic," which is a form of gibberish that according to the band "fits to the music and acts as another instrument." Lead singer Jonsi Birgisson’s falsetto is devastatingly beautiful, able to pierce through the cacophonies that often times swell beneath his voice as it soars higher and higher. This is definitely not your typical arena band, but that doesn’t mean they don’t put on one of the most moving and brilliant arena shows- just the contrary.

This tour is slightly different from the one from last year, which focused heavily on the highly contemplative, slightly meandering Valtari album. For this run of shows, Sigur Ros is previewing material from their new record Kveikur, which is out in June. Honestly, this is the most energized, seamless and renewed that the band has sounded in a decade, and the new material shows off that newfound confidence and ability. New song "Brennisteinn" is one of the most powerful things they’ve written yet, and it’s actually redefined epic for the band that has never been able to escape that title. The new material is considerably darker than most of their catalogue, yet they wove it into the set masterfully, so it played off the hopeful and major crowd pleasers from Takk… and Agætis byrjun and acted as just the right counterweight. This preview of Kveikur reveals that the album could indeed by one of Sigur Ros’ best, and certainly will bring back many they’ve lost with Valtari.

The majority of reviews about Sigur Ros’ live shows say the same thing- it’s pretty much impossible to put their shows into words, and that’s pretty accurate. A Sigur Ros concert is absolutely a "see it to believe it" moment- a felt experience in which the audience, propelled by massive sonic soundscapes, is transported through to a heightened emotional consciousness. And to see a sold out crowd with almost no one holding up phones video taping, Instagramming or tweeting was a sight in and of itself. Respect flowed both ways last night, between the individual and the collective, the fans and the band, and after two hours, everyone walked away a little more at peace than they’d been before.

Setlist:
Yfirborð
Ný Batterí
Vaka
Hrafntinna
Sæglópur
Svefn-g-englar
Varúð
Hoppípolla
Með Blóðnasir
Olsen Olsen
Kveikur
Festival
Brennisteinn

Encore:
Glósóli
Popplagið


Photo Credit: Will Miao


Photo Credit: Will Miao


Photo Credit: Will Miao

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